will a f80 motor work in a F63

by Greg
(Caro Mi)

The brush holder broke on my sole F63, the motor is under warranty but i have to pay sears for a service call and a hourly charge.

I found a motor for a f80 and wonder if I can install it?. It is a bigger hp motor.
thanks

F80 Problem

by Rick
(Rome, NY)

Here's the bottom line, if you are over 5'6", DO NOT BUY this treadmill. I am 5'10" and the grips and side rails are too low. The treadmill I used to use at the gym has the rest handles at 40" from the running surface, the F80 (and I presume all their models) start at 36". On the gym treadmill when you raise the incline, the handles follow so they are always at the same height from the running surface. The F80's stay where they are and do not follow the incline, thus at a 10 degree incline the handles are only 31" from the surface.

What this results in is you have to BEND OVER while using this maching if you want to rest your arms.

Terrible design for what otherwise is a great machine. So if you are of any height, DON'T BUY IT.

Unfortunately I had a health problem when it was delivered and wasn't able to try it out until after the 30 day return window had passed. I emailed them but they simply say there's nothing they can do.

F80 Threadmill

by Ann
(Edmonton, Canada)

Bought the treadmill in October. Delivery was not a problem but the treadmill did not work and trying to get a technician to come out and service the FAULTY machine has been impossible. From having to contact the Service Dept numerous times, who won't do anything unless they get a copy of the invoice, to the Sales dept (where you have to try and reach Service Agents who do not return phone calls or arrange repairs. Obviously they must not stand behind their products & their Quality Assurance Program lacking as a brand new machine does not work upon delivery.

Sole treadmill model F80

by Kim
(New York)

I'm confused by all the postive reviews I'm reading. My husband and myself had a treadmill in our home for 16 years. We purchased our Sole F80 in April 2010. We have had nothing but problems. With out getting into all the repairs that have had to be made I will give a short summary. At the six month mark the whole treadmill had to be replaced (which had to be carried up and then back down a flight of steps). Since then the electronic display has had to be replaced twice and two belts have been replaced. Each time it is anywhere from two weeks to a month that we have been with out our treadmill. We have had repair men to our house at least 8 times in the 22 months.

Last winter I gave up and went and joined a gym. Currently it is not working again. We called approx. 2 weeks ago they sent the part the tech. came this past Sat. said it was fixed. My husband went to use it Sun. it worked for about 5 min. then stopped working again. They are sending another part and the tech. wants to come Feb 11th! Another month with no treadmill.

Sole feels that since they are willing to send the part and the tech, we should be satisfied. It is time consuming to have to keep scheduling time for the repairs not to mention all the time we can't use our own machine. I offered to pay more money to upgrade if they thought that would work (you would think $1500.00 for a treadmill would be of better quailty. The last several times we tried to talked to their reps, they got very nasty on the phone. I will never buy another sole product or recomend this product to anyone. Our service contract now ends in April. I might as well just get rid of the treadmill because I will go broke paying for the repairs.

It would have been better and more cost effective for Sole if they would have just given us a refund when we asked for it. The 30 day guarantee is not enough time. Our machine started having problems around the 4 month mark.

Good luck to anyone who purchased one of these products. I truly hope you have better luck then we did.

Love my Sole!

by Nancy Peterson
(Milwaukee, WI)

I wanted a good treadmill, not a rickety, cheap one. I also wanted a value. This is it. I have only walked on this machine, and it's great for that. My daughter has used it for running, with good results also. I see that there have been some comments on the slow response when changing the speed or incline. I have not found this to be a problem. There is a slight delay, but that certainly isn't a drawback! This is the best piece of fitness equipment I've ever owned!

Sole Treadmill F80 stopped working at 71.23 hours and 270 miles

by Gloria
(California)

Hello, I purchased the F80 over two years ago and used it infrequently. It stopped working at 71.23 hours and 270 miles.

Symptoms: After 1 mile it froze at 4 speed. All programs stopped working, I could not change speed, incline or stop. I had to remove Key to shutdown the treadmill. I unplugged the treadmill waited a minute and then plugged it back in. I let it reboot and it started up again in normal operation. I was able to continue my workout. I called Customer Service to report incident (8/10/10). The technician stated it may have been a stuck button or there is a problem with the display switch. I told him I did not think it was a simple stuck button. He ordered me a display switch and a start switch in case this problem happens again.

Three days later 8/13/10:
Again after going one mile and at 4 speed the controls stopped working. All buttons stopped working and I had to pull the key to stop the treadmill. I went through the re-boot process. This time it did not go back to normal operation. It would not start.
I called customer service and spoke with the same technician he assured me my parts were ordered on 8/10/10. He suggested at this time in order to confirm the speed/incline buttons were working, I should detach those switches (located at the hand grips) from the computer cable and try the start procedure again. I did this and the treadmill still would not start.

Conclusion is confirmed, it is assumed the problem is with the display board. I should get my part by 8/17/10.

Since this happened outside of the Labor Warranty (2 years) but still within the Free Parts Warranty (5 years) my husband and I did the labor ourselves and parts were free. I got my part afternoon of 8/17 and used the treadmill that same evening.

Labor:
Make sure your treadmill is not plugged in. The labor consisted me having to remove about 50+ screws in order to take the back panel off the console. The Allen wrench with Phillips head screw driver supplied with the treadmill was not long enough for the smallest of screws that were located in the deepest of holes. Make sure you have a flashlight and an extra long Phillips Head screw driver to complete this job. AFTER the console back panel is removed and BEFORE you remove the bad part take a picture with your digital camera (Technician's advise), so that you have a picture to refer to of the proper setup as you change out the parts.(This was VERY GOOD advice) There were 5 switches to connect and more screws to remove. I replaced only the display board and not the start switch. I will save the new start switch for use at another time (hopefully never)

Total labor to change the display switch/board took about an hour at most and my treadmill is now working!

My advice:
Make sure you complete the warranty process by completing the self address registration card (I'm glad I had otherwise warranty period of time is 18 months)
& make sure you use the treadmill frequently in the first two years. Always call customer service for any problems you may have. I saved myself more wait time for the part because I had called at the first indication of a problem. Have your owner's manual and serial number of treadmill at hand when you call.

Pros:
I am happy with the treadmill, it works as good as the ones at the gym. It easily moves and folds up when not in use. Customer Service was great and the technician was very helpful. I got my free parts within a reasonable time (FED-X Ground) I am required to send back the bad part as part of the warranty process. A return slip and FED-X shipping label was enclosed in the box.

Cons:
At this time would be the slow response of the program keys during transitions in my workout and the soft spongy feel of the buttons when pressing down. It needs to be pressed firmly yet lightly or it does not work. Also the fan located in the console is insignificant and wimpy. In addition I felt disappointed that the treadmill broke down after such a minimal amount of use. I will be using it quite often now until November (Playa Del Carmen vacation)!!

Check for an update on this review by November 2010

Sole F85

by B. Wilson
(Huntington Beach, CA )

I received our new Sole F85 on MArch 2, 2011. It arrived with the console scratched. Was told by tech that I have to contact the co. After several calls to Dicks Sporting Goods and attempts to call Sole, I finally s/w a Sole rep on 4/18/11! In the meantime, as we used the treadmill an annoying clicking sound happened each time we walked or jogged on the treadmill. We also began to have a problem with the console freezing and when it was turned on, the only way to get it started by the menu was to pull the Stop cord in and out several times. Sole agreed to ship a new console within 5 days. It is now 4/25 and there is no new console at my doorstep and the failure of the computer is worse. It now takes at least 15-20 pulls in and out of the Stop cord to reset the machine to where it will work. So, I called Sole again. I was told that the console is on back order and they don't know when it will be in. Wonder why someone couldn't call me to tell me that. So, I asked to have a technician come over and look at the problem with the computer and the tech, Len, told me that they couldn't send them because they have no parts or tools to do the repair. They apparently need the new console because it is a computer problem. Duh....so I'm understanding that if there are computer problems with the console, a new one has to be ordered? This doesn't make sense. He promised to get a new computer system out to me FedEx, arrival 4/29. But then, we now have to call the outside tech vendor to make an appointment to come and replace the old one! Needless to say my husband and I are very angry. This is not a cheap treadmill. We use it almost daily for at least 2 hr per day, moderate use, no heavy duty stuff. Weight and height are proportionate for both of us, so that is not the issue here. We simply wanted a quality machine so that we could work out each day after work without having to wait in line at the gym. I told the tech person at Sole that if this isn't fixed within the next week, they are getting it back and I'll never get another Sole and will certainly spread the word!
Signed a VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER!

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